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Sports Media Colleagues Praise Ernie Johnson’s Speech At Bama

“Using his son Michael’s relationship with his basketball coach, Johnson told the best college football team in America about his philosophies of making someone else’s day better and being a better human.”

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Alabama Football

Ernie Johnson may not be the focus of TNT’s Inside the NBA, but he is every bit as important as Kenny, Chuck and Shaq. He also has a unique story to tell about his life as a father. He has been using that story to inspire others for years.

Recently, Alabama football coach Nick Saban invited Johnson to come to Tuscaloosa and speak to his team. Using his son Michael’s relationship with his basketball coach, Johnson told the best college football team in America about his philosophies of making someone else’s day better and being a better human.

The University of Alabama posted highlights of the speech online.

Michael was adopted from an orphanage in Romania. The nurse that handed the child to Johnson’s wife told her that she didn’t want that baby because “he is no good.” He lives with muscular dystrophy. He did not speak until he was 8 years old. Ernie Johnson told the players that his son developed a relationship with his high school’s basketball coach, because the coach recognized how hard Michael worked every single day and was taken by Michael’s desire to say “love you too” before anyone said “I love you to him first.”

The coach ended up putting Michael on the basketball team to teach his players about sacrificing for others and creating a better world for someone else. A moment where fellow players and other students showed their respect for Michael at his high school graduation stuck with Johnson and made him realize how fortunate it was that the coach and the kid met.

Not just the story itself, but seeing it told by Michael’s father had a clear impact on many. That includes Ernie Johnson’s colleagues in the sports media, many of whom took to Twitter to share Johnson’s message and express admiration for him both personally and professionally.

Michael’s is a story that Ernie Johnson has told before. It was the focus of a critically acclaimed segment on ESPN’s E:60 in 2015.

Nick Saban has as much or more clout than any other coach in American sports. The athletic department at the University of Alabama is not shy about spending money. The coach can seemingly pick and choose who comes to talk to his team. The fact that he chose Earnie Johnson is a testament to the power of the message.

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

As the show ended today, Brandt said, “I am not saying goodbye to any of you…Candidly, I have a lot of questions myself. Here’s what I know: I personally will be intensely involved in Good Morning Football moving forward. And I want to spend the rest of my career with the NFL. And Good Morning Football is not ending, it is expanding. And it’s exciting because it’s a bigger show and it’s more show…It’s all in and it’s all happening and yes, we will be covering the draft. GMFB is leaving home for college…it’s time to evolve. And we are flattered that you are wondering and maybe worried about what’s coming next with the show…I am very proud of what we have built here…it has been a dream job and I know we are going to make a fantastic show from Los Angeles…I’ll see you this summer.”

Earlier this week host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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